The Manaverse Podcast

Today we're talking with Jason Garvin. Jason is the manager of Total Escape Games, a premium retailer of tabletop games, carrying a vast array of role-playing games, card games, miniatures games, board games, and more in Broomfield Colorado. Jason is going to give us some insight into the origins of the store, dealing with the day to day operations of running a large retail focused game store, how to manage an almost completely hands off owner of the business. So if you want to understand how to build a game store that runs without you as the owner being there all the time, it's time to pay close attention.I'm opening up a few more slots for clients of the Manaverse Marketing Agency this month so if you're either in the start up phase of opening up your game store and want to kick things off with a powerful digital marketing strategy that's been proven to attract customers and drive sales from day 1, or you're an established game store that wants to expand operations and use digital strategies like email marketing and paid advertising to grow rapidly, let's chat! Go to manaversesaga.com/mma and we'll put together a custom Q4 marketing plan for your business and talk about how we can make it happen for you!

Hey, welcome back to the Manaverse Podcast! I'm your host Tom Traplin and this is the podcast where we explore what it takes to build a successful friendly local game store.Before we jump into things, Q4 is coming and I'm looking for more game store owners to feature on the podcast, so if you get an email or phone call from me in the near future don't be too surprised. If you want a chance to tell the story of your game store and get featured on the podcast, I would love to talk to you! Send me an email at [email protected] and you could be my next featured guest on the podcast.I'm also looking for a few more stores that want to make the end of 2022 their best quarter yet! I'm opening up a few more slots for clients of the Manaverse Marketing Agency this month so if you're either in the start up phase of opening up your game store and want to kick things off with a powerful digital marketing strategy that's been proven to attract customers and drive sales from day 1, or you're an established game store that wants to expand operations and use digital strategies like email marketing and paid advertising to grow rapidly, let's chat! Go to manaversesaga.com/mma and we'll put together a custom Q4 marketing plan for your business and talk about how we can make it happen for you!So today we're talking about an article recently published by Polygon titled Long live the friendly local tabletop game store. I'm not going to read the whole thing in it's entirety but I definitely recommend you check it out right here.

Jake Tanner is the owner Unplugged Gaming in Manlius New York. Jake came into the tabletop gaming business from a different angle than most of the game store owners that have been featured on the podcast. Before launching Unplugged Gaming, Jake, along with his business partner, owned and operated a highly lauded digital marketing firm called Digital Hyve that they grew to over 50 employees over a handful of years. Digital Hyve was acquired by the advertising firm Butler/Till last year, which allowed Jake to explore his other passions.Unplugged Gaming launched this past November and on day one they did over $14,000 in sales, since then they have done over $270,000 in in store sales and are on track for a spectacular year one. We're going to dig into the Unplugged Gaming launch strategy and talk about how Jake and company got their business off to a great start.We talked about:The Unplugged Gaming origin story.How Jake built a group of raving fans on Facebook before launching his online store, and how that helped them start the business with a huge amount of momentum and sales.How focusing on SEO early on helped attract a major online influencer and how their deal doubled Unplugged Gaming's traffic.The most important thing a new store owner can do before opening their game store.The one piece of technology that Jake couldn't do without for running his business.How digital marketing can be used to grow and launch a game store in 2022.You can get a digital marketing strategy created for your game store in the next 24 hours that gives you the blueprint for generating new sales and customers on autopilot. All you have to do is go to manaversesaga.com/growmylgs and put your information in and we'll put together a 90 day marketing plan that covers how to optimize your website for organic traffic, how to capture people on an email list that let's you sell to them again and again, what to post on social media so your game store stays top of mind for your customers, and how to run Facebook and Google ads that sell like crazy. If you want to be able to make sales 24 hours a day and reach new customers outside of your existing community, you need to make digital marketing a priority for your business. Kick off your digital marketing by going to manaversesaga.com/growmylgs

For most game store owners, SEO is techno jargon. Something that only the biggest ecommerce businesses need to think about. I've also heard variations of the sentiment that it’s impossible to compete with the big players like BGG and Amazon in the search engines. That’s only half true. SEO definitely sounds like the kind of techno jargon you'd hear from a Priest of the Mechanicum, but your website can absolutely compete with places like Amazon when it comes to the search engines. You just need to pick your battlefields.Your game stores' website isn't going to outrank Amazon for a particular keyword in the global sense, but search isn’t just worldwide. Google takes geography into account and someone searching for something in New York isn’t going to get the same results as someone in California or the UK. Your website can definitely rank and get organic search traffic for keywords that matter to your business, it just takes some effort and little strategic thinking, which is luckily something game store owners are good at.Get a quick crash course in the basics of search engine optimization and how to create pages on your game store's website that turn random visitors into paying customers.You can get a digital marketing strategy created for your game store in the next 24 hours that gives you the blueprint for generating new sales and customers on autopilot. All you have to do is go to manaversesaga.com/growmylgs and put your information in and we'll put together a 90 day marketing plan that covers how to optimize your website for organic traffic, how to capture people on an email list that let's you sell to them again and again, what to post on social media so your game store stays top of mind for your customers, and how to run Facebook and Google ads that sell like crazy. Having a digital marketing strategy for your game store is one of the most important moves you can make in 2022. Customers are spending more time online and are expecting to be able to interact and shop at your store in the same way. If you want to be able to make sales 24 hours a day and reach new customers outside of your existing community, you need to make digital marketing a priority for your business. Kick off your digital marketing by going to manaversesaga.com/growmylgs

Dustin is the owner and founder of Board Gaming with Education and BGE Tabletop. He has experience teaching English as a second language to a variety of age levels – from kindergarten to university. He also works in the field of education in various capacities. BGE started off as podcast in 2017 and has expanded into a platform for educators to learn how to incorporate games into their curriculum, with a brick and mortar storefront planned for 2022.Linkshttps://www.boardgamingwitheducation.com/https://bgetabletop.com/Why We Buy by Paco Underhillhttps://www.facebook.com/groups/openinggamestoreBinderPOSCrystal CommerceShopifyYou can get your customized digital marketing plan right now by going to manaversesaga.com/mma to book your free strategy session.Once that's booked we'll do a full assessment of your current digital presence. We'll do a deep dive into each of the six elements of digital marketing for your game store to identify what's working and what's missing. Then we put together a customized strategy for your business, and then when we're on the call we will work together to identify the unique aspects of your brand that set you apart from your competitors, as well as figure out who your ideal customer is and how to attract more of them.At the end of the call you will have a framework for building out a complete digital marketing strategy for your game store and can find out how we can get that all implemented for you over the next 90 days.Make 2022 your best year yet. Book your strategy session today by going to manaversesaga.com/mma

Happy New Year everyone! I hope you had a great time celebrating the arrival of 2022. One of the things I like to do at the beginning of the year is to look back a bit and see what happened over the past 12 months and establish a bit of a theme for the coming year. So that's what we're doing today.Let's discuss three of the biggest lessons I learned over the past year and how they've changed the way I think about what I'm doing, and then look forward to the future and talk about the big trends I think are coming for game store owners in 2022.Find out how we can help you grow your game store with the 90 Day LGS Transformation Program. you can book your free strategy session by going to manaversesaga.com/mma. We will do a deep dive on the six main areas of digital marketing for your game store and identify what's working and what can be improved on, create a plan that incorporates each of the Six Pillars of Digital Marketing, and how we can put the plan into action for you over the next 90 days. Book your strategy session at manaversesaga.com/mma

This is the second podcast in a series that I'm calling Launch Lessons, where I'll be breaking down the Six Pillars of Digital Marketing and show you just how powerful and important they are to your business's growth. If you haven't listened to the last episode on how much your email list is worth, go back and check that one out.Today we're talking about content and why having the right content on your website and social media channels leads to more sales, more traffic, more customers, and a bigger audience for you to reach.In this episode you'll learn:How content helps visitors progress through the buyer's journey and presell themselves on what you have to offer, Why the most important content targets the largest number of people, in particular the ones who need the most education and help on getting started, Why your core content should answer as many questions preemptively as possible, And why you should leverage those pieces effectively by making them easy to find on your website.And if you like what you've heard today and want to find out how we can implement this in your game store you can book your free strategy session by going to manaversesaga.com/mma. We will do a deep dive on the six main areas of digital marketing for your game store and identify what's working and what can be improved on, create a plan that incorporates each of the Six Pillars, and how we can put the plan into action for you over the next 90 days. Book your strategy session today at manaversesaga.com/mma

In the spirit of giving value up front, this is the first podcast in a series that I'm calling Launch Lessons, where I'll be breaking down the Six Pillars of Digital Marketing and show you just how powerful and important they are to your business's growth. First up, we're talking about one of my favourite topics and one area of marketing that almost every game store I've looked at could improve on: Email Marketing.We're going to explore the questions: How much is your email list worth?What is the best way to build an email strategy?How should you test and optimize email campaigns?How do you know if an email campaign is successful? What kind of metrics should you use?What is the best way to use data to segment and target customers?What do you write?How often should you send?What is the most crucial aspect of building email campaigns?Find out how we can help you grow your game store with the 90 Day LGS Transformation Program. you can book your free strategy session by going to manaversesaga.com/mma. We will do a deep dive on the six main areas of digital marketing for your game store and identify what's working and what can be improved on, create a plan that incorporates each of the Six Pillars of Digital Marketing, and how we can put the plan into action for you over the next 90 days. Book your strategy session at manaversesaga.com/mma

If you're a game store owner, you're ridiculously busy most of the time.You've got inventory to manage, events to organize, people to hire, and a million products to stay on top of. It's a lot to handle... and marketing your game store often becomes an afterthought. Something that always gets pushed onto the back burner.And it doesn't matter what stage of business you're in. If you're just getting started you have to do everything yourself. You wear all the hats, all the time.If you've been running your shop for a few years you've got even more moving parts and people to manage.Marketing is almost always seen as a nice-to-have rather than a necessity. It's the old build it and they will come attitude.Most game store owners make the assumption that the gamers in their local area will find them. Seek them out.And for the most part that's true, but if you want to grow your business you need to tap into a larger market than just the uber geeks.But there is something else that I've noticed over the years...The most successful game stores in the world have mastered digital marketing.They have a comprehensive digital strategy that leverages the power of e-commerce, social media, paid advertising, email, search engine optimization, and content creation, all working together to create a powerful marketing machine for their business.I've been putting out content around digital marketing and the business of running game store for a long time now, but, like I said, you're probably super busy and as much as you know you need to market your game store if you want to grow, there just isn't enough time in the day to figure it all out.Sometimes you just need someone to come in and do it for you.And that's the perfect lead in to my biggest announcement since the LGS Success Summit.I am officially announcing the launch of the Manaverse Marketing Agency, the only digital marketing agency specifically for game store owners.Get your customized digital marketing plan and kick off 2022 strong by going to manaversesaga.com/mma

Today we are talking with Alex Thor and Jonathan Adams. Alex is the Director of Operations at RPG Travel and Jonathan is their resident gaming master. Both of these fine gentlemen were featured at the recent 2021 LGS Success Summit and today we are going to explore what RPG Travel is, how it works, and how you, dear listener, as a game store owner can work with them to offer your customers an unforgettable gaming experience that they'll love, while making money and travelling to exciting locations at the same time. Think playing DnD in Dracula's castle, having an adventure through Middle Earth in New Zealand, and gaming sessions in historic pubs, dungeons, catacombs, and more.  Seriously cool stuff.Intro (Why RPG Travel is awesome and why you should care)Before we jump into the details, tell us how RPGT got started. Where did the idea to fuse exotic locations and gaming come from?How does it work? What does RPGTravel do?Who travels with RPGT? How many tours have you run? How do you find your game masters?What kinds of locations do the tours visit? What’s a typical RPGT experience like? What kind of planning goes into an RPGT experience?Do you need to be a specific game level to play? What does the owner of a FLGS get when working with RPG Travel? What games does RPGT support? RPGs, Tabletop, Card games, etc.?What are the requirements for a FLGS to get involved? As the game store owner, what are their duties on tour? How many travelers do you need to run a tour and how many days? What happens if the trip doesn't fill? Are there any expenses? What if something prevents the trip from happening, like a global pandemic or something?I'm sure someone is listening right now and thinking "This sounds really cool but I've got so much going on right now. I’m too busy." What would you say to them?Do you have any tips for game store owners for making their custom branded experience a success?How can the listeners get started? Where do they go to begin working with you?Get Connected with RPG [email protected] LGS Success Summit Black Friday Deal Is Here!For the first time you can get access to the 2020 and 2021 LGS Success Summit recordings for over 50% off!That's 40+ seminars from some of the most successful game store owners in North America covering a variety of topics critical to growing your tabletop game store including:brand building,running events,email marketing,game demos,networking and collaboration,TikTok,SEO,word of mouth marketing,creating a WPN Premium level business,ecommerce and shipping,hiring the right people,creating video content,creating a risk free system for selling used games in your store,financing your store,as well as sessions from publishers covering some great new products you can stock in your game store over the coming months.It's all included, but the deal ends Friday night at midnight, just under 12 hours from when this episode goes live, so if you've been waiting for the right time to pull the trigger on getting the summit recordings, this is the perfect opportunity!All you have to do to pick up the deal is go to lgssuccesssummit.com/bf2021

Athena Games in Norwich, UKIn today's episode of the Manaverse Podcast, we're talking with Jamie Grinstead from Athena Games. Athena Games is Norwich's premier tabletop game destination for gamers of all sorts and we dive into their origin story, what sets them apart, and how they have navigated the changing digital landscape over the last two years to create a thriving ecommerce business using Shopify.Linksathenagames.comshopify.comhttps://www.facebook.com/athenagamesukDid you miss your chance to attend the 2021 LGS Success Summit live? Right now you can still pick up the All-Access Pass by going to lgssuccesssummit.com/buyaap and get access to all three days worth of content. That's 24 sessions from some of the most successful game store owners in North America covering topics like brand building, running events, email marketing, game demos, networking and collaboration, TikTok, SEO, word of mouth marketing, creating a WPN Premium level business, ecommerce and shipping, hiring the right people, and tons more. You can find all that in the Manaverse Network when you pick up your All-Access Pass by going to lgssuccesssummit.com/buyaap.

Let's have a quick chat about the allocation situation and how distribution can help support game stores that spend years building the communities that create the demand for the products in the first place.Grab your ticket to the LGS Success Summit >> https://lgssuccesssummit.comFollow Dave Salisbury on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/dave.salisbury.fanboy3

Jess Carrier is the featured guest on the Manaverse Podcast today. Jess is the Head of Marketing and Events at Noble Knight Games in Wisconsin and we're going to dig into my favourite topic, which as you probably know by now, is marketing. We're going to discuss her experience jumping in as the head of marketing at Noble Knight, some of the trends we've been seeing over the past year, content creation, social media, and a ton of different marketing strategies that Jess is using to grow Noble Knight Games right now.QuestionsGive us a little background on the Noble Knight story and how you became the head of marketing.What kinds of marketing did Noble Knight do in the past? What are you focused on now?What kinds of campaigns have you seen drive the best results? How did you measure the success?Was there any marketing strategy that really underperformed?Thinking from the perspective of a smaller game store owner, maybe someone just starting out, what kinds of marketing do you think they should focus on?When it comes to marketing, what's the most important thing to keep in mind?What's in store for the Noble Knight in the future?What does success in marketing look like for you?Where can people find out more or connect with [email protected] you liked this conversation with Jess than you're going to love the LGS Success Summit. You can get your free ticket to the 2nd LGS Success Summit right now by going to https://lgssuccesssummit.comThe LGS Success Summit is a virtual event so you don't have to worry about spending thousands of dollars on airfare and travel and accommodations and food. You can attend the summit and listen to the expert speakers from the comfort of anywhere with an internet connection.We're talking three days of content, delivered by 24 of the most successful game store owners in North America, covering the entire spectrum of experience. Day 1 of the summit is all about new store owners and what you need to know to get your business off on the right foot. Day 2 is all about growth and marketing and learning how to sell more products with cutting edge marketing strategies, and day 3 is dedicated to operations and optimizing where you're going to learn about the systems and processes you need to build a business that runs itself.And just like last time, the LGS Success Summit is free to attend live! You can pick up your free ticket right now by clicking right here.

The 2nd LGS Success Summit is scheduled for September 7th to 9th, 2021 and we're going bigger and better for this one. Just like last time, this summit is a virtual event so you don't have to worry about spending thousands of dollars on airfare and travel and accommodations and food. You can attend the summit and listen to the expert speakers from the comfort of anywhere with an internet connection.We're talking three days of content, delivered by 24 of the most successful game store owners in North America, covering the entire spectrum of experience. Day 1 of the summit is all about new store owners and what you need to know to get your business off on the right foot. Day 2 is all about growth and marketing and learning how to sell more products with cutting edge marketing strategies, and day 3 being dedicated to operations and optimizing where you're going to learn about the systems and processes you need to build a business that runs itself.And just like last time, the LGS Success Summit is free to attend live! You can pick up your free ticket by going to lgssuccesssummit.com and signing up right now.And if you act soon, you can also upgrade your summit experience and purchase an All-Access Pass at early bird pricing and save 25%. As an All-Access Pass holder, you get access to the audio and visual recordings once the summit is finished, as well as the resources and bonuses mentioned during the summit.If you've been thinking about how to grow your game store but just aren't sure about what to do next, the LGS Success Summit is where you want to be. It's three days of actionable strategies, useful resources, industry connections, and networking opportunities and I'm super excited for you to be thereGrab your free ticket and All-Access Pass by going to lgssuccesssummit.com and signing up today.Supply chain issues are coming. Let's talk about the causes of the disruptions to the game trade supply chain, why shipping container costs are exploding right now, and how you can mitigate some of the impacts on your business.Quick hits#1 Diversify your product offerings#2 Work with a larger number of distributors#3 Focus more on the secondary market#4 Do more events and make them profitable#5 Offer additional services#6 Order direct#7 Order what you need for the holiday season now

Does Your Game Store Need an SEO Specialist?If you've been in business for any length of time you've probably been pitched SEO services at least a few times by people promising to get you on page 1 of Google.That sounds pretty good right? The trouble is hiring someone for SEO (Search Engine Optimization) can be very hit or miss.Some people are great and others will try to rip you off completely, and it can be challenging to know who's who.SEO is technical and somewhat abstract so it can be hard to tell if someone you hire is doing a good job or nothing at all, and it generally takes a few months to see any real benefits from the effort.Something to keep in mind for someone who is planning on opening a new store in the near future, SEO is a long term strategy and if you're opening up shop in month or two, SEO isn't going to do all that much since you only have a short amount of time to get things rolling.You should definitely get the basics started so you have an online presence that people can find to learn more and that you can grow over time, but if you want to prime the pump on your opening week, you should be spending time on promoting your store on the local Facebook groups in your area and trying to get the word out with some paid ads.That would be money better spent than hiring an SEO specialist.But all that said, it's still worth your time to get some SEO basics in place for your game store business.The good news is 80% of what you want to achieve with SEO (namely better rankings for keyword searches that matter for your business) can be done yourself in the course of an afternoon assuming you already have a website created.Here's a quick rundown on what you need to know to get your SEO going this weekend.The Set UpStart with getting the basics in place.Open up Google and search for Google My Business and go through the set up process. It’s pretty straightforward and the app will walk you through what you need to do to get everything online. You will have to verify your address with a code they’ll send you in the mail so it might take a couple weeks to completely finalize GMB.Make sure your graphics and logo assets match your website and branding, same with the copy.Grab your Yelp listing and be prepared for a Yelp rep to call you and essentially hold your page hostage unless you pay them. Don’t worry about that too much though, the direct impact of Yelp itself on your business is minimal, but it does help rank what you actually care about, which is your website.Don’t worry too much about Yelp reviews, direct people to your GMB or Facebook page to leave reviews there. They rank higher than Yelp and most people default to these first since they use them everyday already.Set up your Facebook page and other social media accounts. Make sure the graphics and information match your website and branding. Also make sure the social media accounts that you plan on using are linked up on your website. Most website platforms make that pretty easy.Create a listing on Yellow Pages. Not much to this one. The vast majority of people searching will find your website or Facebook page first and use that to contact you, or get your info from the GMB info box.That's the foundation and will get you most of the way there. You should also try to register your website with other relevant directories like the Chamber of Commerce for your local area, or Industry Store Locator directories and GAMA, and any others that make sense.None of these extra directories will drive any significant traffic to your site, but they will help build up your backlink profile, which I'll explain down below.The GoalSEO has three end goals. You want people searching for keywords relevant to your business like “game store near me” and “magic cards/board games/dnd (your city)” to either: call your store, get the info they need to visit your store in person, or go to your website.You get those clicks by ranking highly on those search results. To get those rankings, you need to align with what Google is trying to accomplish.Google is in the business of delivering the information that people are searching for, and that means giving them search results that solve their problem or answer their question.At this point, the algorithm is pretty smart. You used to be able to get some top rankings by jamming a bunch of keywords into your page, but that doesn't fly now.If you want to rank on the first page of the search results, you need to play Google's game. Think about it from the searcher's point of view when you look at your page. Are they going to find what they are looking for?The vast majority of traffic goes to the first three results in Google (75.1%). Less than 1% click results on the second page, so if you're not on the first page for a keyword you might as well not exist.If you want to get organic traffic you need to understand the basics of SEO and have a simple strategy to make it work for you.Real quick though, one common misconception that most

In today's episode we are going straight to the source and exploring what makes the WPN program tick, how to achieve that coveted Premium status for your game store, and how to make the most it. Luke May is the Retail Experience Specialist for Wizards of the Coast in the UK and Nelson Brown is the Wizards Play Network Community Manager in Seattle, and they join me today to discuss the Premium program and what it takes for a game store to qualify as one of the best shops in the world. QuestionsWhat is the WPN origin story? Where did the idea for the Premium program come from? What sets Premium game stores apart? What makes achieving Premium status awesome?What are the main obstacles that store owners run into during the approval process and how can listeners avoid them?What is the WPN program trying to achieve?How can store owners make the most out of their Premium status?Where can store owners go to get more information?Links Mentioned During The InterviewRetail Improvement Grant 50% (only available while supplies last)Why We Buy by Paco Underhill (affiliate link)Mary, Queen of ShopsUK Retail Expowpn.wizards.comaskwpn.wizards.comWPN Facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1659498737640125/How to apply for WPN Premium: https://wpn.wizards.com/article/how-apply-wpn-premium-during-pandemicWPN articles: https://wpn.wizards.com/grow-your-storepublishergamenights.com

Curt Covert is the founder, creative force and jack-of-all-trades at Smirk & Dagger. He’s worn all the hats including art director, copywriter, marketer and concept director, and in a past life he was also a creative director and marketing planner for promotion agencies servicing Fortune 500 companies and brands like M&Ms, Jameson, Dannon, Unilever, Disney theme park eateries, and more.Today we're going to talk a little bit about the business of making tabletop games and then we're going to dive into the business of selling those tabletop games.PublishingWhy did you decide to get into game publishing?For those who may not know, describe the ‘house style’ of your line and who you see as the key audience?What does Smirk & Dagger provide as retail support?You mentioned demo copies and demo scripts, what would you say to stores that don’t have the manpower or retail space suited to doing demos?RetailWhat are some best practices for merchandising games that help game store owners move more product? (I will spend a lot of time here, doing a borrowed brilliance exercise )How often should store owners remerchandise?As a game publisher, what is one thing you wish retailers knew or would do differently?LinksRetailer Resource Page: https://www.smirkandlaughter.com/retailer-resourcesSND Retailer FB group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/666949490455299Envoy: https://www.dexposure.com/envoy/Dized Interview: MVP096If you want to be part of a community of peers on your business journey to share ideas with and continue learning, you can become a member of the Manaverse Network by going to manaversesaga.com/join. That's where you can get access to all the seminars from the recent 2020 LGS Success Summit as well as additional exclusive members only content, marketing reviews, and training.

On May 13th, 2021, Wizards of the Coast announced plans to move away from it's current iteration of Organized Play and phase out the MPL and Rivals leagues. The 2021-2022 season will be the final season of Wizard's foray into e-sports in it's current form, and it looks like they will be refocusing on in-person and local level play more closely in the future.Wizards Announces Major Changes To Professional Organized PlayThe new Organized Play vision is to balance the five categories of play away from the heavy focus on professional or “elite” play. The five categories include:Friendly play (local game store level)Aspirational play (drive to play at a higher level in stuff like States)Elite play (higher level events similar to Grand Prix or Pro Tour)Festivals (things like CommandFests)Digital (playing on MTG Arena and Magic Online as an on-ramp for players anywhere to have access to varying levels of play).Key PointsMagic is a poor e-sport and is not compelling to watch from a spectators perspective. This was a major hurdle that Wizards had to overcome to make Magic successful as an e-sport and this announcement indicates that it didn't achieve what they were hoping.Players shouldn't expect to make professional Magic into a career. Organized Play always has been a marketing strategy and always will be. It's not a way to employ people.The older paths towards high level play were simpler and easier to follow for the average Magic player, making them more aspirational and interesting, which drove sales. The current version is convoluted and messy, and reducing the complexity will certainly help.What does this mean for the local game stores?Overall, it's probably a positive change. With a renewed focus on local and regional events, the focus will be more on the average major player and using organized play as a way to support their enjoyment of the hobby, and the local game stores that support the community. Future versions of the program will probably be simplified and recapture the original sense of excitement and achievability for average players.Linkshttps://magic.gg/news/esports-transitions-and-getting-back-to-gatheringhttps://articles.starcitygames.com/news/2021-2022-will-be-last-season-for-pro-magic-play/https://articles.starcitygames.com/news/weekly-mtg-answers-questions-regarding-op-announcement/

Molly Zeff, the cofounder of Flying Leap Games is on the Manaverse Podcast to talk about getting into the game publishing business and what she learned by visiting over 250 game stores all over the world. If you're interested in discovering how to get your game published, Molly shares a number of valuable lessons on how to take a game from concept to manufactured product and then getting that product onto the shelves of retailers and the tables of customers at home.We also cover some of the common threads that the most successful game stores share and how to incorporate them into your own game business. Episode Breakdown2:30 Why did you decide to get into game publishing?8:20 What was the journey for Wing It to become a tangible product like?14:30 How did you begin selling the game and get it into the hands of retailers?29:10 How creating real relationships leads to more business and sales36:25 After visiting over 275 game stores all over the world, what are the common threads you've seen that the most successful business's share?37:50-42:32 Gaming builds community42:50 Without game stores to provide the community, the gaming hobby would barely exist46:47-52:24 Welcoming all types of gamers means welcoming all types of people53:10 Games create connections across boundaries including language, the story of the North American Magic player in Japan56:08 The Wing It conversation club story59:22-1:05:20 Go out into your local community and outside your four walls1:07:31-1:11:30 Bring publishers to your game nights virtually1:12:13 Diversify your offerings to protect your business1:21:54-1:32:10 What is the best way to create relationships in this business?1:32:45-1:38:26 Why you need to get your game store online now1:39:07-1:47:13 Find a mentor and why you should cooperate with your competitors as much as possible1:48:04 What does success look like for Flying Leap GamesLinks MentionedFlyingleapgames.com@penguinsoaring on TwitterReach out to Molly at [email protected] you want to be part of a community of peers on your business journey to share ideas with and continue learning, you can become a member of the Manaverse Network by going to manaversesaga.com/join. That's where you can get access to all the seminars from the recent 2020 LGS Success Summit as well as additional exclusive members only content, marketing reviews, and training.

Jouni Jussilla is on the Manaverse Podcast to talk about Dized, a digital companion designed to be used next to physical tabletop games. We all know that one of the biggest obstacles to picking up a new game is learning the rules, which is why we often refer to our friends to teach us. It creates a much better learning experience and gets us into the game faster.Imagine having that exact same experience in a highly interactive and engaging app with an ever expanding library of tutorials that you can use to teach anyone how to play. No need to slog through a 15 page rulebook before you can even get set up. Just jump right into the game and learning as you go.This is where Dized comes in. With Dized, players can learn games while they play and enrich their tabletop gaming experience and it can do everything from Smart Tutorials to full game expansions!Dized brings the experience of the best video game tutorials to the board game table and we're going to find out more right now.QuestionsWhat is the origin story of Dized? How did you guys get into this business?What is Dized and how does it work?How much does it cost?How the content creation tools work?Who creates the content?What are some of the best ways store owners can use the app to sell more games?How does the advertising system work?Where can listeners go to get started?Dized is beneficial to all industry operators:Publishers can make their games more accessible with smart tutorials and more immersive with digital content. Dized has also proven to be very efficient at demoing games at expos!Retailers can use Dized as a “demo person” at the store, and Dized offers a great selling point: “If you buy this game, you can skip the rulebook and learn while you play!”Board Game Cafes can utilize Dized as “someone” who teaches guests how to play the game and is able to handle all the tables simultaneously!Reach out to Jouni: [email protected] a Manaverse Network member: https://www.manaversesaga.com/join

GAMA EXPO 2021 has come and gone so let's talk about what went well and what could be improved on. Today, I'm breaking down my experience with the Expo and some of the difficulties I ran into while registering for the event, as well as talking about some of the advantages of the Spatial Chat system and how it can be made even better for next years Expo.If you want to be part of a community on your business journey to share ideas with and continue learning, you can become a member of the Manaverse Network by going to manaversesaga.com/join. That's where you can get access to all the seminars from the recent LGS Success Summit as well as additional exclusive [email protected]

If you’ve been open for any length of time in this business you’ve probably run into someone who thinks they deserve a special deal. Maybe they’ve been a long time customer, maybe they’ve just rolled in off the street and feel like you owe them cheaper prices.At the moment of this recording there is a surge of speculation in the Pokémon market with a huge number of people buying up product in order to resell and flip on platforms like eBay and Facebook. Depending on who you ask, this is either a great opportunity for store owners to clean up, or a problem that’s going to create a lot of unhappy customers.Let's talk about how we should deal with speculators and crazy hot products in short supply, as well as the inevitable one star reviews and how we can use them as a marketing opportunity to reach your real customers.

Devon Chulick is the Founder and COO of Start Playing Games, a service that helps connect tabletop RPG gamers and professional game masters together to create amazing gaming experiences. Devon has been involved in the eCommerce industry for over a decade with a number of businesses under his belt. He enjoys reading, volleyball, pizza, and Dungeons and Dragons, and today we're going to get to know Devon and how his latest project is bringing about the age of the professional dungeon master.QuestionsHow did you get into tabletop RPGs?What is the big idea behind Start Playing Games?How can game store owners use the platform to grow their businesses?What kind of tools do people need to become a GM and run great gaming sessions?What are some best practices you've seen from the most successful game masters on the platform?What do you have planned for the future of Start Playing Games?How can game store owners learn more and get involved?Linkshttps://startplaying.games/dndbeyond.comhttps://roll20.net/Email [email protected], there's always room to improve and opportunities available, and if you want to be part of a community on your business journey to share ideas with and continue learning, you can become a member of the Manaverse Network by going to manaversesaga.com/join. That's where you can get access to all the seminars from the recent LGS Success Summit as well as additional exclusive content.

Steve Port joins me on the podcast to discuss his latest project, Melee.gg and the future of Magic tournaments, online and offline. Learn how Melee.gg can allow your game store to run Magic tournaments more efficiently than ever, both in store and on Magic: Arena.Find out how the platform works, how you can run events with minimal staffing and still have a smooth tournament experience for your customers, and how the Melee.gg team is changing the way events are run.Melee.gg is a great way for game stores to run tournaments that was previously reserved for the likes of the Star City Games Tour and other premier organizers.Steve PortSteve’s introduction to competitive gaming was in the early 90's when he began organizing leagues for strategy games. This was followed closely by organizing sanctioned events for Wizards of the Coast.This early hobby quickly turned into full time employment as he acquired contracts with companies like Wizards of the Coast, Upper Deck, and Konami.From 2001-2015 Steve organized some of Magic’s largest tournaments while also starting and overseeing several companies connected to the tabletop gaming world.He's heading up Melee.gg with Jason Flatford, Brad Nelson, and Adam Shaw, each of which brings something unique to the team in addition to their shared passion for Magic: the Gathering.Steve was also one of my first interviewees on the podcast years ago. He appeared on episode 14 of the Manaverse Podcast back in 2015, and now he's back to give us the lowdown on Melee.gg and the future of running tournaments online.QuestionsHow did you get involved in Melee.gg?From a complete newbie perspective, how does the system work?How do you capture payments? Is there a limit? How are prizes (if any) distributed?What are some best practices for running great tournaments with the software?What's the biggest tournament you've seen on the platform so far?How should store owners be using the platform to run events?How can they get involved and become organizers?What's planned for the future of Melee.gg?Linksmelee.ggBecome an OrganizerMelee.gg Documentationmanaversesaga.com/join

Join me as I tell the story of interviewing for the position of marketing manager for Star City Games and my plan for improving the marketing strategy of one of the biggest Magic: the Gathering businesses in the world.Resources Mentionedsemrush.comanalytics.google.commailchimp.comactivecampaign.comGet your FREE ticket for the LGS Success Summit right here!

Brenda and Paraic Mulgrew are the owners of the incredibly thematic Knight Watch Games in San Antonio. Knight Watch Games is a full service gaming center that specializes in board games, card games, miniatures, and role-playing and is beautifully decked out in Medieval fantasy decor.To quote one of their customers: THE OWNERS AND STAFF HAVE CULTIVATED A NIRVANA FOR GAMERS. A MORE OPEN AND WELCOMING PLACE YOU WILL NEVER FIND."Brenda and Paraic on a mission to show what a game store can be in 2020 and beyond and during the episode we dig into what it takes to be a game store owner, the advantages of having a partner that compliments your strengths and weaknesses, and what game stores need to do to attract and serve the most misunderstand demographic of customers right now and turn them into raving fans.Don't sleep on this one, especially in these strange times we live.https://www.knightwatchgames.com/Get your FREE ticket to the upcoming LGS Success Summit belowhttps://lgssuccesssummit.com

Kylie Prymus has been the owner of Games Unlimited in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania since 2015 but Games Unlimited is one of the original founding game stores in North America. Opening their doors for the first time in 1979, Games Unlimited has been serving the Pittsburgh community for decades, bringing people and games together the whole time. With a special focus on being community oriented, family friendly game experts, Kylie and the Games Unlimited crew help people find the perfect game for their needs and have built a thriving business while doing so. Topics/QuestionsHow Kylie got into the game business and how he grew Games Unlimited after taking over the ownership in 2015.Why your customer's trust is the most valuable asset your business can have.The impact of the shutdowns on Games Unlimited and how Kylie kept the business going.Honeycomb - "We raised $11,085 in our first day! As a business that relies heavily on customer relationships, giving my customers a way to support us during the shutdown is a win-win for both of us."How Kylie found out about Honeycomb and what lead to the decision to give them a try.Tips for game store owners that are struggling right now.The Manaverse Podcast is supported by Honeycomb Credit. Honeycomb Credit is here to support your small business during these uncertain times. As a leader in crowdfunded small business loans, Honeycomb gives you the opportunity to raise community capital from your customers, fans, and the network of Honeycomb investors.  Sign up and get connected with one of their funding experts by going to manaversesaga.com/honeycomb. If you're a local game store owner in need of funding, working with Honeycomb Credit creates a way for your existing community to invest in the future of your business. If you want to support the local game store in your area, let them know how Honeycomb Credit can help! Go to manaversesaga.com/honeycomb to sign up and get started today!

Shannon Ebbitt is the co-owner with husband Vince, of the Mana Boardgame Tavern in Pittsburgh Pennsylvania, a steampunk inspired venue offering a variety of adult beverages combined with a library of board games for their patrons to enjoy. The Mana Boardgame Tavern was conceived with the idea of bringing great games, great drinks, and great people, all together into a welcoming atmosphere. Add in a hefty amount of passionate geekdom and every night is game night.Main Topics ExploredThe Kickstarter campaign that started it allThe story of how the building they rented burned down before they could open their doorsHow Shannon and Vince came to the decision to open a specialty bar Lessons learned during the launchRaising money with Honeycomb Credit to stay afloat during the lockdownTips on running a successful crowdfunding campaignFind out how you can run your own Loyalty Bonds campaign by going to manaversesaga.com/honeycomb

Wizards of the Coast made an announcement recently on the WPN site detailing the changes to the program and what it takes for local game stores to qualify for WPN Premium status.So let's dig into the announcement and talk about the three major changes to the program and some options for game store owners looking to become Premium.https://wpn.wizards.com/en/article/evolving-wpn-premium-covid-19-and-beyond

If you're in the planning stages of your future game store or were about to launch, you should put everything on hiatus right now. Hold off on opening your doors or making any major purchases in the near future because the circumstances in which you would be operating are changing, almost by the day.If you went through the effort of putting together a business plan, the very assumptions the plan is based on are now incorrect. A business plan presupposes a few things, like a somewhat stable economy, reliable infrastructure, and a reasonably consistent regulatory environment.But that's no longer the case. Let's talk about what you should be doing instead of pulling the trigger on your game store plans and how to set your business up for success later on.

The situation is changing day by day and for many game store owners, business is anything but the usual.Social distancing and isolation have made the traditional model for local game stores unfeasible if not impossible. Hosting events is no longer an option and likely won't be a long time.And for the stores in regions that are particular hard hit like California and New York, options are even more limited as they've been forced to close their doors entirely.But there is some good news. The industry as a whole is coming together to help support the front line game stores and there are still ways to keep your business running, even in the midst of a lock down situation.John Coviello is on the podcast again to share how he's dealing with the situation in his business, and some of the things he's been doing to mitigate the negative effects of the pandemic. Listen in to learn how publishers and distributors are creating programs to help your business continue to generate revenue as well what government programs are being made available to small businesses so they can weather the storm.Click here to join the Manaverse Network free for 30 days and stay connected with other store owners and stay on top of what's happening in the games industry.See the full list of available resources at https://manaversesaga.com/mvp085-resources-and-advice-for-staying-in-business-during-the-covid-19-pandemic

Joe Masilotti is on the show to talk about how WeTabletop can help game store owners get in front of more customers and fill up their events more consistently. WeTabletop allows players looking for games to connect with store owners hosting those games, and they're not just restricted to the usual suspects. Players can find nearly any table top game on the system.For game store owners, WeTabletop is a completely free way to reach more customers and sell more games. Due to the current circumstances surrounding Covid-19, WeTabletop is also offering store owners to host remote/virtual events so there is no excuse not to claim your store's page right now.Go to https://wetabletop.com to get started.

Is coronavirus worse than the flu? At this point it doesn't matter, the panic and fear is real. Governments are taking this seriously.Coronavirus is going to affect all retail but game stores are a unique business model and are very focused on face to face interaction. So what do local game store owners need to be concerned with over the coming weeks and months?Health ConcernsDo you have a plan in place for what happens when your team gets sick? What about you?What are you doing to reduce the spread of disease? Hand sanitizerEconomic ConcernsSupply chain issues, China manufacturing is reduced. Shipping is delayed as countries go into lockdown. What can you do to prevent issues with restocking? Will likely affect board games more than other products as majority is manufactured overseas, can you refocus product lines to others that won't be as affected?Do you have enough of basic items like toilet paper! to last a prolonged shortage?Do you have enough set aside to float the business if sales are reduced for the next 6 months?Dealing with quarantines, reduced foot traffic, low to zero event attendance, reduced sales.Insurance isn't going to cover this.RecommendationsPersonal, have food/water/basic supplies on hand. Prepare to self isolate if necessary, at least a few weeks worth. Wash your hands, avoid touching your face. You will likely be infected or someone you know so be prepared to be knocked out for a while.Put a plan in place if you can't work for up to a month. Does your manager know how to order or take care of other admin tasks? Do you have a chain of command in place? In the extreme case, what happens to your business if you die?Speak to your distributors and suppliers. Ask them if there any items they expect to see shortages of, consider stocking up now if necessary. Be proactive, not reactive. Speak to your staff about ways to reduce the spread of the disease. Put up guidelines for customers as well. Avoid touching each other's cards or game pieces as much as possible, wash your hands often.

For those who haven’t heard the tale, Pat’s Games was robbed a little over three years ago and the bad guys made off with over $60,000 worth of high value Magic cards. The story of the burglary went far and … Read More The post MVP083: Justice Has Been Served appeared first on Manaverse Saga.

Since the day I started the Manaverse Podcast I've wanted to interview certain people in particular. John Coviello and Gordan Johansen were high on my list, as well as Pat Johnson and Kelly Ackerman, KYT, Derium's, Card Kingdom, and many, … Read More The post MVP082: Pete Hoefling on Star City Games appeared first on Manaverse Saga.

Over the course of the last year, Chatbots have been making a lot of noise in the industry. They are either the cutting edge in marketing technology, poised to change the way people interact with businesses, or they're a fad … Read More The post MVP081: Chatbots: What They Are And Why You Should Care appeared first on Manaverse Saga.

Gordon Johansen is back on the Manaverse Podcast along with John Coviello and Wayne Mittlesteadt to talk about holiday sales and driving big numbers during the holiday season. Black Friday, Small Business Saturday, and the Christmas season are the … Read More The post MVP080: How Gordon Johansen Sold $36,000 Worth Of Product In One Day appeared first on Manaverse Saga.

2018 has been an interesting year for the games industry. We've seen a glut of excellent board games hit the market and more mainstream adoption of the gaming hobby by the 'mundanes' as John Coviello would say, but we've also … Read More The post MVP079: The State Of The Games Industry appeared first on Manaverse Saga.

The days of Magic Online are numbered, at least in its current form. The question we explore today is "Will Wizard's of the Coast shut down Magic Online?" and how will this affect local game store owners. The short answer … Read More The post MVP078: The Death Of Magic Online appeared first on Manaverse Saga.

In this super short episode of the Manaverse Podcast, we ask the question "are you focusing on the right things?" Specifically, are you building a business, or are you building a community? I'm going to give away the plot on … Read More The post MVP077: Are Your Building A Business Or Are You Building A Community appeared first on Manaverse Saga.

Matthew Vercant has worked for three game stores, done shipping fulfillment for various Kickstarters, managed shipping for Minion Games, and now owns Just Games Rochester. His background before entering the games industry was in publishing and teaching. He also just … Read More The post MVP076: Marketing Strategies That Drive Sales appeared first on Manaverse Saga.

Do you know what it takes to start a movement in your local game community? That's the essence of this episode of the Manaverse Podcast. Darcy and Daniel Leech, the owners of Mind Sculpt Games in Great Bend, Kansas, have … Read More The post MVP075: Starting A Movement appeared first on Manaverse Saga.

Sometimes you reach a point in your business where you begin to question whether or not the whole endeavor is worth the effort. You face a crossroads where you can either choose to quit and walk away, or push through … Read More The post MVP074: When To Give Up And When To Push Through appeared first on Manaverse Saga.

The first episode of the Round Table is back after 8 months. The whole gang returns to discuss the recent developments in the industry including the rise of D&D. Roleplaying popularity is surging and for the guys, driving sales in … Read More The post MVP073: Round Table – The Rise Of D&D And The Impending Doom Of Magic appeared first on Manaverse Saga.

Everyone gets burnt out every once in a while. The question is what to do about it when it happens. Even gaming can become exhausting and stressful once you make it your profession, and that's the path a game store … Read More The post MVP072: The Gamer’s Paradox And Dealing With Burnout appeared first on Manaverse Saga.

John Coviello (Little Shop of Magic) and Gary Sproul (The Haunted Game Cafe) join me to discuss every retailer's favorite topic: dealing with distributors and figuring out your supply chain. If you want to run a game store, you need to … Read More The post MVP071: Round Table – Distribution… It’s Not Just The Games That Are Analog, It’s The Industry appeared first on Manaverse Saga.

The round table is back. John Coviello (Little Shop of Magic), Wayne Mittlesteadt (Dueling Grounds), and Gary Sproul (The Haunted Game Cafe) join me to discuss two things: Wotc's new digital offering MTG Arena and the impact of counterfeit games … Read More The post MVP070: Round Table – MTG Arena And Counterfeit Games appeared first on Manaverse Saga.

Learn about the three growth hacks that you can implement in your game business today that can potentially lead to exponential growth. Discover how to build in a viral component into your events and your offers that will make your … Read More The post MVP069: 3 Growth Hacks For Your Game Store That You Can Implement Today appeared first on Manaverse Saga.

Nate Petersen is the owner of Backstage Hobbies and Games, West Michigan's premier vintage Video Game, Board Game, and Trading Card Game store. This episode isn't just a feature on Nate's game store in Michigan. Nate is also the Director of … Read More The post MVP068: The Future Of MTG E-Commerce appeared first on Manaverse Saga.

Welcome to another episode of the Manaverse Podcast. Wayne Mittelstaedt is back on the podcast for a one on one interview and we're going deep into the trials and tribulations of a major business move. Wayne shares a ton of valuable … Read More The post MVP067: The New Dueling Grounds appeared first on Manaverse Saga.